Pine Forest

Beth Spencer

The hush as you enter this carpeted space with

little girls stitching tales, sewing notions, patching

rooms into buildings, brown needle walls, green

to sweep the earth bare for dancing. Hunkered

down whispering, small talk, concentration.

Tree roots make cupboards, beds, chairs, tables.

A collaborative design. High above, the sun falls

slant to our busy, creates a halo as we butter

rituals, fine tune trees, sing earth to sky,

make everything sacred to imagination.

There are no husbands within

these walls as we dream.

BETH SPENCER’s books include The Age of Fibs, Vagabondage, and How to Conceive of a Girl. Her poems, essays, memoir and fiction have been published widely and broadcast on ABC Radio National. She writes on Darkinjung land on the NSW Central Coast, and at www.bethspencer.com and https://bethspen.substack.com/